The Bush Legacy in Michigan
Washington — In what supporters of the President have dubbed his "legacy year," Americans United for Change, the progressive issue-advocacy group best known for leading the successful fight to beat back President Bush's effort to privatize Social Security in 2005, has hit the road with its latest effort – the Bush Legacy...Third party and independent candidates present unified platform
Ron Paul held what he described as a "very important" press conference on September 10th in Washington, DC. The event brought four third party and independent candidates "together in unity" around a statement of principles. The event came as polls showed the presidential race tightening and third party/independent candidates getting...
Poll: Arab Americans favor Obama by wide margin
September 26th, 20080 WASHINGTON (IPS) — With less than two months before the November elections, Arab American voters in the United States are poised to vote heavily Democratic, according to a poll released here by the Arab American Institute (AAI). The poll, which was conducted by Zogby International for AAI, a Washington-based lobby and public...
Neo-cons, ex-Israeli diplomats push Islamophobic video
September 26th, 20080 WASHINGTON (IPS) — A group of hard-line U.S. neo-conservatives and former Israeli diplomats, among others, are behind the mass distribution, ahead of the November U.S. presidential election, of a controversial DVD that critics have denounced as Islamophobic. The group, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), is working with...
Obama advisor stresses carrots over sticks
September 19th, 20080 DETROIT (IPS) — Dr. Susan Rice, senior foreign policy advisor to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, says the U.S. would make every effort to avoid resorting to a military attack on Iran under an Obama administration. Tough diplomacy would be used to curtail Iran's reach for nuclear capability instead of rushing to...Michigan office sued over unlawful voter purging
DETROIT – Advancement Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Michigan and the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP filed a federal lawsuit this week challenging two statewide voter purge programs that could potentially disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters in advance of the November 2008 presidential...
Remembering 9/11 and moving forward
September 12th, 20080 America must move from the errant, retributive justice of 9/11 to a healing, restorative process of truth and reconciliation. Before the Congress adjourns, I will bring forth a new proposal for the establishment of a National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, which will have the power to compel testimony and gather...Lose your house, lose your vote
The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP's effort to challenge some voters on Election Day. "We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will...Peace team members arrested at Republican National Convention
Minneapolis, MN — Late Wednesday, September 3, while working to keep people out of harm's way outside a concert at the Republican National Convention, Rev. Peter Dougherty of Michigan Peace Team and three members of the Minnesota Peace Team were arrested, handcuffed, detained for almost five hours, and presented with citations...Some charges tossed in case against Muslim charity
DALLAS (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped most charges against two men accused of helping a Muslim charity finance terrorism, an apparent sign that the government will focus its case on two other men who were leaders of the group. Leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, based in Richardson, Texas, are accused...
Al-Arian finally free; ex-professor released on bail
September 6th, 20080 Dr. Sami Al-Arian, the Palestinian professor at the center of a terrorism case, was just granted a release on bond after five-and-a-half years in government detention. He will await further legal proceedings with his family in Virginia. His many supporters around the country are relieved that he is at least free from...Stretching the truth at the GOP
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth. Some examples: PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by...Muslim charities negotiate a minefield
NEW YORK (IPS) — As Muslims begin one of their most important holidays — the month of Ramadan — charitable organizations serving the American Muslim community are taking what some observers believe is a desperate last step to keep the U.S. government from shutting them down. Muslim Advocates (MA), a San Francisco-based national...Joe Biden’s mixed up bag on the Middle East
Barack Obama's vice presidential pick, Joe Biden, is a self-avowed Zionist. As he explained to an American Jewish TV station last year, you don't have to be Jewish to be Zionist. Of course, this discovery is not uniquely his. It is shared by the likes of John Hagee of the Christian Zionists, whose power is courted by Israel but whose...
Dems rally behind Obama, Biden
August 29th, 20080 Election stirs hopes, fears in U.S. Iraqis WASHINGTON (IPS) — As the November election nears, Iraqis in the United States appear divided over their preferences for the next U.S. president, according to a series of interviews carried out by IPS. Some see in Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican candidate who has opposed a......
Local law enforcement of immigration rules debated
Washington — Over 200 scholars, government officials, community and law enforcement leaders gathered to discuss the impact of local law enforcement of immigration law, during a conference August 21-22, in Washington, D.C. The conference, entitled "The Role of Local Police: Striking a Balance between Immigration Enforcement and...McCain shows same intellect as Bush
New York — Russia invades Georgia and President Bush goes on vacation. Our president has spent one-third of his entire two terms in office either at Camp David, Maryland, or at Crawford, Texas, on vacation. His time away from the Oval Office included the month leading up to 9/11, when there were signs Osama bin Laden was planning......
Spying law quickly challenged
NEW YORK (IPS) — Civil liberties advocates lost no time in asking a federal court to stop the government from conducting surveillance under the new wiretapping law passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush last month. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a coalition of other groups declared that the new law...An awful shame
The 1980s were a difficult time for Arab Americans. Politicians returned our contributions, rejected our endorsements, and many effectively hung "No Arab Americans allowed" signs on their campaign doors. Back then, we wrote about this situation, calling it "the politics of exclusion." We fought back. We organized, worked hard, and...Newly released documents show preferential treatment for Israeli lobby
WASHINGTON — More than one thousand documents released under Freedom of Information Act filings reveal details of a secret battle that raged between founders of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and top U.S. law enforcement officials. The new book "America's Defense Line: The Justice Department's Battle to Register...Voting rights of Arab American citizens
No day is more important in the United States than election day. It is a day on which all Americans are equal as they go to the polls. Too often, though, discrimination, ignorance or incompetence take away the right to equal treatment and interfere with the right to vote. In 2000, the Department of Justice successfully......
Neocon flap highlights Jewish divide
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A mushrooming media controversy pitting neoconservatives against a prominent Jewish-American political commentator could mark a new stage in the growing battle over who speaks for the U.S. Jewish community on foreign policy issues, particularly regarding the Middle East. Joe KleinTIME columnist Joe Klein's...In defense of prejudice
Palestinians look at rubbish that was thrown by Jewish settlers outside a mosque in the West Bank. REUTERS/Nayef HashlamounBeyond the Golden Gate, on a sandy shore of the cold North Pacific, spayed by black rocks and frequented by Sirens, lies Marin County. In this most delightful part of California, the Sirens do not ravish seamen;......
Faith and Values Media announces winners of grants
NEW YORK — Faith & Values Media, the nation's largest coalition of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith groups dedicated to media production, distribution and promotion, has chosen the winners for its 2008 member productions grants. The awards were given to Faith & Values Media members whose productions showed an innovative...Obama’s Muslim advisor steps down
Washington — This week, Mazen Asbahi, volunteer Muslim-outreach coordinator to the Obama campaign, tendered his resignation. The Chicago-based attorney stepped down amidst personal attacks. "I am stepping down from the volunteer role I recently agreed to take on with the Obama campaign as Arab American and Muslim American outreach......
